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Hailing from Santa Cruz, CA, Poi Rogers performs award winning American roots music, with Gerard Egan doubling on acoustic and steel guitar and Carolyn Sills on standup bass. Known for their dynamic musicianship and clever lyrics, the two create a wildly unique sound, with elements of western and gypsy swing, Americana, Hawaiian steel guitar and vivid storytelling.
Poi Rogers' bassist Carolyn Sills is known her witty lyrics on unexpected subject matters, which has not only gained her a loyal following, but publication in the ‘Lyrics as Poetry’ book series and free Dixon Ticonderoga pencils. Her 2019 collaboration with Grammy Award Winning engineer Sylvia Massy (Johnny Cash, Rick Rubin) on her original, Marty Robbins based concept album, ‘Return to El Paso,’ earned her a whole new fan base.
Carolyn & Gerard won the 2018 and 2024 Ameripolitan Award for Western Swing Group (as ‘The Carolyn Sills Combo’), and Carolyn was named the Academy of Western Artists' Western Swing Female Vocalist of 2020. They performed at the 2024 Monterey Jazz Festival and are both Sacramento Western Swing Hall of Fame inductees.
When not on the road, they run an in-demand guitar repair shop in Soquel, CA, and are plotting the adoption of their second dog. Their second album, Whirligig, will be released on Friday, May 1st 2026.
New single, Gil Carter, out now:
“Sills' voice sounds effortlessly - and wondrously - like Kitty Wells or Patsy Cline winging over the airwaves from a vintage Grand Ole Opry show.” - Vintage Guitar Magazine
"Bassist Carolyn Sills and her guitarist husband, Gerard Egan - Santa Cruz's Les Paul and Mary Ford - crank out good stories, catchy love songs and creative chord progressions that will take listeners back to vibes of the post-World-War-II era. Carolyn is the real deal of throwback country music.” - Good Times Magazine
PRESS:
“Poi Rogers comes with a built in pedigree. Multi-award winners with the Carolyn Sills Combo, Inducted into the Sacramento Western Swing Hall of Fame and possessing a thorough knowledge and love of the many styles of music reflected in this eight track collection, they set a standard for others to strive for.” - Ritchie Ritchison for Country Music News International
“… last week I spent Thursday night at The Side Door watching the duet Poi Rogers from Santa Cruz. This talented couple provided a sundown infused with their rare mix of cowboy campfire rhythms and blazing tiki bar tenderness. The audience absolutely loved it.” - Scott Thomas Anderson, Sacramento News & Review
“Sills' songs, written and produced with Gerard Egan, are an homage to jukebox Americana— tasty twang reminiscent of Merle Travis and Patsy Cline." - Monterey County NOW
“The punningly named duo channel 50s honky tonks and the tropical lounges of 1930s Los Angeles with both self-penned and vintage Americana, playfulness being the keynote… a real joy, happy trails indeed.” - Mike Davies, folking.com UK
“Twilight Blues sits at the edge of the Western Swing world — less barroom, more beachfront. A little surf, a little prairie, a little salt in the air. It’s shaping up to be a mood record. A California mood, even if it doesn’t call itself that. For fans of vintage Americana, steel guitar, or modern storytelling with classic bones, this release is one to keep an eye on… - Meghan ‘Mae’ McCoy, Western Swing Society
Visit the Poi Rogers YouTube page for more live footage
AWARDS:
2024 and 2018 Ameripolitan Award Winners, Western Swing Group (for The Carolyn Sills Combo)
2020 Academy of Western Artists’ Western Swing Female Vocalist of the Year
2019 Inductees to The Sacremento Western Swing Hall of Fame
Visit the homepage for upcoming tour dates
CONTACT:
General Contact/Radio/Booking:
poirogersmusic@gmail.com